French government rules out a 'Sangatte 2' for asylum seekers

The mayor of Calais today ruled out ‘any possibility’ of the building of a new Sangatte-style welcome centre for migrants trying to reach Britain illegally.

‘We can’t allow such a measure,’ said Natacha Bouchart, adding that ‘increased security’ around the port in northern France was the way of dealing with the problem.

Miss Bouchart was speaking after a Roman Catholic charity was apparently given planning permission to build a new shelter in the town.

Asylum seekers gather for lunchtime food handouts in Calais, France, where local officials have ruled out opening a new "Sangatte" type refugee camp

Secours Catholique wants to convert a 5000 sq ft industrial building close to the port to include showers, a kitchen, and medical facilities for the estimated 1500 refugees sleeping rough.

It has already been dubbed Sangatte II, after the notorious Red Cross centre near Calais which housed thousands of Britain-bound migrants.

The original Sangatte was bulldozed as part of a deal between Britain and France in 2002, with all those arriving in the area since having to rely on charitable support for food and shelter.

Last month Secours Catholique won a ruling at the Administrative Court in the regional capital Lille which they believed would allow them to start building.

But Miss Bouchart, a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party, said the proposed centre would need final permission from Paris - and there was ‘no possibility’ of receiving it.

Immigration minister Brice Hortefeux said yesterday: 'We oppose any and all accommodation centres that would attract illegal immigrants and the traffickers who prey on them.'

Mr Sarkozy was Interior Minister when the deal to close the original Sangatte was negotiated, and he has no intention of reneging on his agreement with the British government.

Instead he is building up a reputation as France’s most anti immigration president in history, taking every opportunity to dissuade alleged refugees from passing through his country.

Faced with increasing numbers of migrants on Calais streets, Miss Bouchart admitted there was a ‘serious problem’ with ‘immigrants squatting in the centre of town, and everybody suffers.’

But referring to her Communist predecessor Jacky Henin who wanted to build a new Sangatte, Miss Bouchart said: ‘We don’t have the same point of view as Jacky Henin - the last mayor. He wanted to open a new welcome centre like Sangatte. We can’t except this measure.’

Instead, Miss Bouchart said there would be ‘a reinforcement of security measures around Calais. If the migrants are more numerous here it’s because there’s a better chance of them reaching England.’

A spokesman for Secours Catholique said: ‘We will do everything we can to provide shelter and support for anyone sleeping rough in Calais. This is a humanitarian problem.’